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William Corvinus
William Corvinus is a member of the Corvinus Clan and the first Werewolf, and the ancestor of all Lycans. He is portrayed by creature actor Brian Steele in Underworld: Evolution. History William was born sometime in the 5th century,"After sixteen centuries, William, the father of all werewolves, was dead." ~Underworld: Evolution novelization the son of Alexander, the First True Immortal, and his mortal wife, Helena Corvinus, and is the twin brother of Marcus Corvinus. William, along with Marcus, inherited the Corvinus Strain in its active state from their father, meaning that they were born Immortal. It was William who was bitten first, when a large rabid black mountain wolf lunged out of the shadows and attacked the brothers. The wolf made for Marcus, and it would have killed him, but William jumped in front of it and was able to kill it with his sword, but not before it bit him. Like his father before him, the Corvinus Strain allowed William to mold the wolf's rabies strain, but it also assimilated the wolf's DNA in its bite, and began changing his entire physical composition. Marcus took him to a nearby inn to have his wounds seen to, but as the night wore on, William became seriously ill. He developed a high fever, and convulsions racked his body. He began to sprout hair all over his body, and his face changed to reveal a more wolf-like appearance. Before the night was through, William had become the first Werewolf. Unlike the later Lycans, William is incapable of transforming back to human form. His lycanthropy virus is much more infectious than his brother's Vampire virus, even allowing his victims to transform post-mortem. Before being bitten, Marcus and William shared a bond that their father never truly saw, one so strong that even after his transformation, William would not attack Marcus. Despite Marcus's and Alexander's efforts, William's rage could not be controlled and he roamed the countryside, killing everything in sight. His virus spread across the land, turning hundreds of humans into powerful Werewolves. After being bitten by a bat, Marcus transformed into the first Vampire, but even then, he still could not stop William's killing spree. Desperate to control his twin, Marcus sought out a dying warlord, Viktor, and agreed to make him Immortal in exchange for Viktor's help in finding and capturing William. Viktor proceeded to infect his personal army, making them into the first Death Dealers, Vampire warriors trained to kill Werewolves. A third prominent figure, Amelia, was made a Vampire, also to help with the capture of William. Together, the Vampires scoured the countryside, searching for any sign of William, and destroying any of his kind that could be found. Marcus brokered a deal with Viktor and Amelia, the terms of which stipulated that when William was found and subdued, he would not be killed or harmed in any way. For 600 years, William evaded capture, and the Werewolf hordes continued to grow, as the Vampires' movements were restricted to the night. In 1202, William was finally captured by Death Dealers after he attacked a village and infected its residents, but had lingered in the surrounding area. Against Marcus's wishes, William was severely wounded while being taken into custody. This sparked an intense argument between Marcus and Viktor, at which point Viktor showed that the Death Dealers were loyal only to himself, not Marcus. Fearing for the life of his brother, Marcus reluctantly conceeded to allow William to be imprisoned in a fortress, far from his own reach. Marcus swore vengeance against Viktor and those loyal to him, intending to find and release William someday, regardless of the consequences. Despite his resentment of Marcus's authority, Viktor was nevertheless reluctant to kill William, due to Marcus having led him to believe that William's demise would bring the death of all Werewolves, including the Vampires' Lycan slaves, with the same rule allegedly applying to the Vampires if Marcus was killed. This was in fact a clever lie told by Marcus to protect his brother's life, as well as his own, but with the supernatural inclinations of the time, Viktor was naturally reluctant to put such a theory to the test. William remained imprisoned for several centuries afterward. ''Underworld: Evolution'' Eight hundred years later, William is freed from his dungeon by Marcus, who has located his brother's prison following the deaths of Viktor and Amelia. William initially attacks Marcus, but soon recognizes his brother's scent, which calms his rage. Marcus has recently become a Vampire/Lycan Hybrid, and intends to make William one as well once they escape the dungeon. However, a Death Dealer named Selene, accompanied by a group of soldiers loyal to Alexander Corvinus, follows Marcus to the dungeon, intending to stop William's release. William proves to be a powerful opponent, despite his centuries of confinement with no blood to feed on, and he effortlessly kills and infects the Cleaners. Selene battles William herself, but her guns and shurikens prove ineffective against him due to his sheer speed and strength. A descendent of the third Corvinus son, a Lycan/Vampire Hybrid named Michael Corvin, attempts to help Selene, but is initially overwhelmed. As the conflict rages on, however, Michael gains the upper hand and succeeds in slaying William, tearing the Werewolf's head apart with his bare hands. Powers & abilities As the first of the Werewolf (and later Lycan) species, William is easily one of the most powerful creatures in the ''Underworld'' mythos and the most powerful member of the Werewolf/Lycan species. As the first true Werewolf, William cannot return to his human form and his transformed state shows more prominent wolf traits, such as a larger muzzle, superior size and white coloured fur. He can also turn others into Werewolves, and his strain of the infection is noted to be far more fast acting, even turning deceased individuals into Werewolves. * Superhuman Endurance: Despite his century-long confinement without feeding, William is able to withstand multiple injuries while remaining mostly unfazed. He survives a series of assaults from the Cleaners and being shot with a light machine gun without slowing. * Superhuman Strength: William is more powerful than his descendants are. He is strong enough to pull a chain so hard that it sends a Death Dealer flying toward him. He also easily kills multiple Death Dealer Vampires at the time of his capture and is only restrained after several others overwhelm him. It is implied he killed many more with equal ease during the many centuries it took to capture him. Even when weakened from a centuries-long confinement without blood, he is still able to break stone with his bare hands and overpower Michael in his Hybrid form on a few occasions, and if he had the time to feed and gain his strength he may have been in theory just as or even more powerful than Michael. * Superhuman Agility: Despite his large size, William can jump large distances. * Superhuman Speed: William can move at considerable speeds and can catch foes off-guard. * Superhuman Self-Healing: He is capable of healing wounds, possibly more than others of his kind, though his confinement likely weakened this ability. Trivia * William's name is from the Old Norman form Williame, corresponding to the French spelling Guillaume, and is a cognate from the German Wilhelm, and of Germanic origin: wil = "will or desire". Given that William's "appetite for destruction" was insatiable, it is an appropriate name. * Before his mutation or transformation into the first Werewolf, William, along with his twin brother Marcus, is the first born Immortal in the Underworld franchise. * William is the only one Marcus would not harm, and vice versa. * William's human form is never shown in the films; however, since he and Marcus are twin brothers, it is likely they were identical before William's transformation, meaning William's natural hair color would be red. * William is the only Werewolf in the main canon with white fur and eyes; all other Werewolves have brown fur and black eyes. * William is the only Werewolf that proved to be a challenge for Michael Corvin, who would typically kill Werewolves and transformed Lycans in seconds. * William was the first Immortal whose victims turned or transformed after they died. * William is the only character that participated in the final battle of Underworld: Evolution who was not hybridized or given enhanced powers from the blood of another Immortal species. Gallery File:William.jpg|William in Evolution. William1.jpg|William looking down on Selene. William Poster.jpg|Official poster featuring William. William2.png|William. William3.jpg|William after being released. Marcuswilliam3.jpg|Marcus looking into William's sarcophagus. References Category:Male characters Category:Deceased Category:Antagonists Category:Evolution characters Category:Character Category:Lycan